Battle Scars
by Ignite the Airwaves
Summary: Healing them physically and now mentally; it hurt more than Raven would ever let them know. However, she didn't realize the pain she would gain from healing one specific wound. R&R! RavenRobin pairing.
1. Wounds

**A/N- Hello all, just got an idea for a little quick one-shot while goofing around. I already posted a new chapter of Existentialism today, so I just felt like giving everybody a little treat. Enjoy, and R&R for me! If I get some magical spark from Lady Inspiration then this may become a story. But don't get too excited about the idea, because I'm not sure. Once again, R&R! And there's no romance here, by the way, at least not yet. Just so you all know. **

Battle Scars

The battle had been one of the hardest, that they could all agree on. The titans looked like a colorful disaster as they all limped or otherwise supported one another through the tower's main entrance. Even the simple journey to their home had been so difficult for the defeated team.

Frowning, Robin laid Starfire down on the couch. The redhead's eyes were shut, and her beautiful body marred with red cuts and black bruises. The Boy Wonder didn't look all that great himself. His bottom lip was puffed out (which would have been almost comical if it had not been for the situation at hand), his eye blackened. Raven had to suppress a shudder when she realized that he looked even worse than when Slade had 'come back' through the mask reagent. His black hair was mussed and a deep gash ran along his leg. Next through the tower's entrance came Beast Boy as a pterodactyl, and he dropped to the ground as soon as he had made it through the doorway. Sadly, that meant that Cyborg's shut down body, which Beast Boy had carried in his talons, landed hard on the floor.

Raven sighed softly, and lifted the now unconscious Beast Boy (A/N- I repeat, no romance there) despite the burning pain in her arms and quickly laid him on the end of the couch opposite Starfire. Her hands shook slightly as she drew them away, her cloak entirely covering her small frame, effectively hiding that which she did not want Robin to see.

Raven's face was bloodied; there was a dark red slash across her right cheek and she was quite sure that her shoulder had been pulled from its socket. Her ankle was also set at a very painful angle, but this she did not mention to her leader, just as she did not mention the multiple slashes that ran across her stomach, or the blood from impact with the wall. It had matted down her hair.

Robin turned to look at her then, the only two of the titans still awake after the mass breakout of Arkham. Robin spoke quietly, his voice gravelly and defeated. He didn't even want to think about all the bad guys that were still running amuck on the streets. But he had known that it was time to abort the mission. The lives of his friends were at stake.

"Raven, I know that you're tired. You don't have to…,"

She admonished him with a gentle wave of her hand. Then she stuck her hand out, and breathing deeply through her nose, laid it first upon Starfire's prone form. The cool blue surrounded Raven's hand then, and slowly but surely the Tamaranian's body began to heal until only the slightest of injuries could be seen upon her. Raven withdrew her hand and staggered backwards, glancing quickly over at Robin. Thankfully, he had not noticed. She could feel the poking and prodding in her flesh, the turning and awful crawling crumbling pain.

But she knew that her injuries had to wait.

She approached Beast Boy next. Besides his broken arm and slashed collarbone, he was for the most part fine, and had passed out only from exhaustion and the nightmares, nightmares The Scarecrow had been so kind to give them.

This time the blue was harder to conjure, and she groaned weakly as it finally did shoot out from her pale hand. Robin shot her a glance of worry, but she weakly shook her head at him. She had to continue. He wanted to protest, she could tell. But he knew that his team needed help.

Her left arm began hurting so much now that she could barely stand it. But she gritted her teeth nonetheless as she felt the skin across her collarbone rip open. She finally stepped aside, Beast Boy's sleep now peaceful and nightmare-free, a clownish smile now on his green face.

The empath swayed on her feet at that moment, but quickly righted herself. Cyborg she could not fix, being that his wires were damaged, but that was okay, as Robin knew what to do. But she needed now to fix Robin.

Robin looked worried when she came towards him. "Raven, I'm fine. You need to rest. Please, I can wait."

She shook her head at him, and he knew there was no point in arguing. He sat down slowly and she coached the blue to come from her hands. Robin was feeling such pleasure when the healing began that he didn't notice Raven's look of strained pain. She was about to rest her hand on his cheek, but he stopped her. "That's just a black eye," he said, "And I wear a mask." She looked dead to him, so pale that it was frightening. Her hood was down, and that allowed him to see so much more. "Raven, are you going to be okay?"

She nodded mutely. Robin reached out to assist her, but she shakily pushed away his supportive arms. He could only watch as Raven staggered painfully up the stairs and through the automatic door.

She fell onto her bed moments later, completely unconscious, not floating above her bed in the least. On her body Raven bore the injuries not only of her own, but also those of her teammates.

**A/N- I guess this really could be continued as a story. Review and tell me if you think so! One-shots can get pretty big if they're good enough. If the story continues, a romance will probably develop. Until next time, **

_Ignite The Airwaves_


	2. Questions

**A/N- Due to the demand, Battle Scars I now becoming a story. But to warn all, this will be pretty free-formed. Like all my stories, I'm always open to suggestions. **

SevenScars- **Guess your dream came true. =]**

Moonlight123- **I lean heavily towards Robin and Raven, although I may throw some minor pairings in for the others. **

Foxwox- **Thanks!**

Tsuki- hime Neko- **Thanks so much, great to see you reviewing so constantly!**

me (Anonymous)- **It's very unlike me to insert an A/N in the middle, I just needed to make the point. Promise I won't do it again.**

Shizuku Tsukishima749- **Thanks a lot!**

amylove15- **Thanks!**

MovingMountains- **(First, if your name has anything to do with the band, awesome!) And thanks a lot.**

Infernal Damnation- **Sorry, but I do lean more towards RavenRobin. But I'll try to please nonetheless!**

SRC- **Thanks, and here we go!**

**Next installment of Battle Scars, here and now!**

Battle Scars

Chapter 2: Questions

They all awoke slowly, limping like lethargic zombies across the stingingly bright control room. Sunlight was now filtering through the large windows after such a long night. Robin was mostly aware of his friends' eyes' opening; he had been repairing Cyborg for hours and his robotic friend was almost back online. Starfire woke first, her green eyes wide and confused. She remembered such unbelievable, excruciating Pain. And in a flash, it had all been gone, nightmares melding to dreams in the midst of the night. She glanced across the room, seeing the clean flesh of her friends. She understood quite quickly that Raven had healed them, and was grateful as always. She knew the healing pained her friend; but she thought it only in exertion of energy, not to the extreme that it was.

Beast Boy was the next to come to, bleary eyed and groggy, a bit of drool slowly hardening on his chin with a trail of it already dried on his shirt. He glanced over to Robin, and, with a sudden mechanical whir, Cyborg's mechanical appendages glowed and hummed a soft blue. His human eye opened as his red eye lit, with a small grunt from his mouth. "Man, we got beat hard." He perused the group of worn teens. "Where's Raven?" He instantly felt a surge of protection for his unofficial sister.

Robin sighed. He still felt terrible about the helpless way Raven had clambered up the stairs, hobbling like an old drunk. She had pushed him away, true. But he still felt responsible. Then again, he stayed behind to patch up his friends, and Raven understood that, right?

"In her room," he answered quietly, "She went there after healing everyone."

"Was Raven injured?"

He looked wearily up at her. "Star, I think so. She just wouldn't tell me."

Beast Boy grimaced. "Dude, don't take it personally. She doesn't tell anyone anything."

Robin shot the green changeling an angry glare, and slowly turned towards the door. "I'm going to go find Raven." The words echoed even after the door had shut behind him.

Finding Raven was even easier than Robin had expected. He started at her haven- her room. Robin tapped on the door lightly, hoping that he wasn't rousing her from sleep.

A raspy, dry voice answered him. "Please, go away." But it felt drier to him, raspier. And pleading, almost. Almost.

"Raven, if you're hurt, please tell me. We want to help you." He leaned against the door, as if to hear better through the iron door.

He could hear irregular breathing. He hoped that he was wrong.

"I'm fine." The voice seemed fainter now.

"Prove it then." His words were soft, yet purely effective. Raven decided that he had worried about her enough. Her door flew open with a mechanized whoosh, and Robin took a long look at his friend.

"Raven."

She bit her lip.

"Let me see," he slowly pulled down her hood, never breaking contact with her eyes. When he finally did, he truly saw her face. His eyes widened. Her lip was slightly inflated and darkened with crusted blood. The cut across her cheek had deepened and her eye was thoroughly blackened. He rubbed her sore cheek with his cool thumb, and she flinched at his touch. He couldn't even recall her injuries being this severe. He noticed that she stumbled slightly as she pulled away from him, obviously embarrassed at their intimate moment.

Wait, _stumbled_?

"Open your cloak, Raven." He knew that he had figured it out. Her face was birch white.

"But…," her protest was so weak that he almost felt like backing off. His face hardened at the idea. This was to help her, not hurt her.

"Raven, that's an order."

She hung her beautiful marred head and used her shaking hands to part the blue cloak. Instinctively, Robin gasped. No wonder she seemed so pale and drawn. Her legs were shaking, ankle twisted unnaturally as well as her arm. Her leotard was sliced through deeply across her collarbone and cuts and bruises left not an inch of purity on her skin.

Raven watched his eyes as he took this all in, how they searched her so thoroughly. And softly, she let out a small sob. She couldn't bear to see him with such pity in his eyes. It was then that Robin remembered himself, and he drew his friend into a gentle hug, hoping not to damage her any further.

"Next time, just tell us when you're hurt," he murmured into her silky hair. She didn't respond, glad that he hadn't understood. At least for the moment, he had no idea where her multitude of injuries had come from.

"Let's go to the Med Bay," Robin said, holding Raven at arm's length. She shot him a pleading look. Funny how she could be stubborn even at times like this.

He sighed. "Raven, I just want to patch you up a little, and you really need to get your injuries checked out. Now, come on." Robin didn't quite understand why his words were so gentle, and it wasn't for many more minutes that Robin realized that normally Raven healed by herself.

**A/N- There you go! So Robin's not really clueless, just too worried to think all that clearly. Most likely the other titans will see Raven hurt and realize that those were their injuries, or maybe there will be an incident of some sort. I'm not completely sure yet. Thanks to my 10 wonderful reviewers! Until next time,**

_Ignite the Airwaves_


	3. Heal

**A/N- So, I'm back! (and will add another chapter to Existentialism soon, for all who wish to know). Great reviews from you all make for a happy writer. I'm gonna try to gradually extend my chapter lengths. Let's see how that goes…For those who said mostly that it was a good chapter, to **Moving Mountains, Foxwox, Tsuki-hime Neko, Locket123, CraneLee, Shizuku Tsukishima749, Animagus95, buddybuddy96, **and** animallover12, **THANKS TO ALL OF YOU. It means so much to receive such good feedback from so many different sources. But for more specific reviews;**

Infernal Damnation- **I see what you mean. In this case I may just skip over romance, maybe just a little implied spark here or there, but very small. **

SevenScars- **Thanks so much! It's great to hear that you liked it that much. **

**And you all know what I'll say next…**

Battle Scars

Chapter 3: Heal

The corridors were eerily silent, and Raven felt that the soft padding noises of her boots on the floor were just a bit too loud. In sharp contrast, Robin's metal boots made her shiver as they ka-lunked, ridiculously loud in the confined passage. Raven briefly wondered why he was gripping her elbow so tightly. Her skin was beginning to bruise. Did he think that she would fall without his support? Was he making sure that she wouldn't run away? Was he…afraid? Raven knew better than anyone that the titan leader was only human, and did indeed get afraid. Of many things, actually, and she knew how the fact pained him.

She was pulled out of her reverie as Robin stopped in front of a starched white bed within the Medical Bay, and flicked his wrist in a dismissive gesture. Understanding, Raven sat very slowly, the cot creaking beneath her weight. It was still too quiet; everything. Their surroundings, the hum of machinery, even the way he was looking at her. She didn't like it. Raven could see that it was his searching face. He was scrutinizing her, trying to figure her out. She huffed impatiently, and that seemed to knock the Boy Wonder back to his senses and back to the girl in front of him.

She met his gaze and removed her cloak gently. Raven could tell that Robin had words on the tip of his tongue, but he bit them back hastily. It was hard to look at such terrible injuries on such a strong member, such a strong hero, such a strong friend. Yes, Robin had come to think of the female titan as a friend. A close friend, even. He did have to admit he had grown attached to her aloof exterior, as he and the other titans knew what lay just beneath the surface. Robin looked across the room to the tinted window. It clearly reflected the both of them; a traffic light of a boy and a cloaked mass of a wide-eyed girl.

"Here." Opening a shallow cabinet, Robin pulled out a salve. He unscrewed the lid, and her eyes were on his twisting hand, mouth in a slight frown. He gazed over at her with an awkward timidity, and handed the salve to her. Her cheeks were just the smallest bit flushed, but he noticed.

For a long moment Raven rubbed the salve into her angry wounds, wincing at the hot stings of pain that erupted at contact. Though the silence was grating on her, Raven hoped that it would last. Obviously, it didn't. She knew that the master sleuth would figure it out eventually anyway. She could only brace herself for the question.

"Raven…," she visibly tensed, "Why aren't you healing yourself?" He sounded sincere, and confused. Maybe just a bit of hinted betrayal lay in his tone, as if she had lied to him. Traitor. The worst of all words.

Her tongue felt heavy and thick in her throat. What now? There was no way around such a direct question. _Lie. Lie, Raven, lie._ The whispering voice was so tempting, and Raven knew that she really didn't need the pity that would result from telling the truth; after all, upon hearing it her teammates would never let her heal them again. And that would be terrible for the team, injuries lasting so long while protecting a city. So after a very long pause, she rasped, "I'm just worn out. After a really big battle, my powers are so drained that healing myself is too much work-just for the moment." It wasn't far from the truth, and she hoped that he would leave her answer as it was. But Robin pressed on.

"I don't recall you having quite so many injuries on the battlefield," he stated coldly, arms folded. For a moment he reminded her of his old mentor. His tone was odd, and she wondered briefly if he already knew the answers to the questions he was asking. After all, he was Robin. Then again, she had to remind herself that even he didn't know everything. Especially when it came to her.

"I'm very good at concealment, aren't I?" She knew that her response would have been more effective had her voice not quavered slightly. Raven was very good at lying; but this secret was pushing on her barriers so viciously that she thought her mind might explode. Of course Robin detected this vocal strain, and he knelt in front of her, locking his gaze on her eyes so that she just couldn't look away.

"Raven," his voice was deadly low and forceful, a tone she had never heard before from the leader. And suffice to say, it slightly frightened her. "Tell me what's going on. And that's an order." Instantly her eyes broke the thread of contact, and Robin knew that he had lost the fight. But he wouldn't let her get away from him that easily. She had won too many times.  
"How d-dare you…," she stumbled slightly towards him, at a loss as to what she could say. Robin reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist, and Raven could swear her bones were splintering. His face was almost against hers, and she shivered as his breath hit her face.

"How dare I what?" Short and sharp. His eyes bore straight into hers, his voice laced with malice. His grip was still tightening, and Raven couldn't believe how heavily her legs were trembling. Where was her immeasurable strength now? Her cold spite? She really wished that she could draw it into the open. It was hiding somewhere, maybe, but definitely nowhere nearby. Robin could smell her fear. It was lurking in the sweat rolling down her face. They stood in their position for several harsh, tense, painful minutes.

Raven finally broke their stance when a strangled gasp escaped her lips, and Robin's demeanor instantly shifted at her sudden noise. He released her wrist suddenly, and she staggered back from him. He didn't like the way that she was looking at him. So afraid. Like she was an abused pet, or even worse, a forlorn child that had just taken a particularly horrible beating. He could see her wrist was red, a dark, deep red. And then from the reflection in the window, Robin saw Slade in himself. Fearful, instantly Robin extended his hand. "My god, Raven, I'm so sorry-," she turned from him, cloak tight around her body once more. Pale hands- trembling, he noticed fleetingly- lifted her blue hood over her head. No. She was retreating. She couldn't! Not now. He desperately rested his hand on her shoulder, a final plea. "Raven, please-."

The trademark black aura swallowed the empath up into the floor, and Robin stood mutely, frozen in his position with hand outstretched, watching as she left. Robin sat down now on the starch white cot, and buried his head into green gloved hands. Why was he always so damn stupid? Every time he got close to connecting with someone, to understanding them, he pulled something stupid, and they retreated like anyone sensible would. Retreat from the monster. Retreat from Slade. They were fucking alike, and he knew it.

He found his reflection again; the night emphasized it in an indigo outline. Chalky, and he could see the orange and black, feel the crawling underneath his skin. This is what Slade had wanted, Robin knew that. To make him feel isolated, to make him feel like a monster. And he had ultimately succeeded. Fuck Slade. Fuck him to the deepest pits of hell. Robin wanted to lash out, knock the sterilized equipment around him crashing to the floor. But no. That is something that Slade would have done. He couldn't be like Slade. He absolutely refused.

**A/N- Was that a bit too rough? I don't know, Robin and Raven are both very touchy and their emotions could change at any moment (sporadically is the word that I was looking for, I think). I pretty much exploited that in this chapter. So any thoughts, specific plot ideas to brush upon? Please R&R! I always appreciate both. Until next time,**

_Ignite The Airwaves_


	4. Overworked

**A/N- Finally back. This whole high school thing is killing me. But I couldn't let you guys wait any longer either. So, review response time: General thanks to **Moving Mountains, SRC, Tsuki-hime Neko, Shizuku Tsukishima749, Animagus95, chessvain **and** Mwahahahaha18. **And the more specific: **

buddybuddy96**- Slade will be just in the background, I believe. I figured that he would mostly be present as one of those distant factors that bother but sometimes fade into the background.**

SevenScars**- For whatever reason, I dislike scenes where Raven converses with her emotions. I find them just a bit too clichéd somehow. But thanks for the idea!**

Infernal Damnation**- I'm most likely going to make it one of those should-be but never will relationships, with sappy moments but an overwhelming impossibility of ocurrence.**

**Disclaimer: Never owned the Teen Titans, or no way would the show have ever stopped. **

Battle Scars

Chapter 4: Overworked

It had been a full week and the tension in the air had only just begun to thin. It had taken the Titans a good few days to notice it at all; Raven stayed in her room even more often than usual. Only when the cloaked titan reluctantly joined her friends at dinner did the other three notice that something was amiss. Her eyes were furiously darting about, refusing to settle in one place. When Robin approached the table, her body went so suddenly rigid that even the least perceptive, Beast Boy, noticed.

Robin's eyes continually seemed to stray towards Raven, and she would not acknowledge it. His face was drawn, and more ominous than the titans had seen in several weeks. His expression constantly changed from desperate to angry. He wanted to apologize-no-he wanted to hit her for not looking him in the face-what was happening to his thoughts?

The meal was quiet despite Starfire's twittering attempts to start a conversation and Beast Boy's feeble jokes. When it concluded and Raven rose, Robin did as well. She slowly looked him in the face, her own face suddenly unreadable.

Robin's voice was a deadly calm. "Raven, come out into the hallway. I need to speak with you."

For a moment she attempted to calculate this request, but coming up unfruitful, followed him cautiously out the door.

All Raven saw when she stood facing him in the corridor were his accusing masked eyes. It was very hard for her to keep a straight face when his emotions were rampaging around so strongly and changing so abruptly that it greatly pained her. He must have seen the pain in her face- he knew her so well.

His hands were on her shoulders. "Raven," he said quietly, "I know that what I did was wrong."

The cold girl couldn't help herself as she snapped, "Thank you, but I don't exactly hear an apology." They were the wrong words. Robin's grip on her shoulders became tight and he roughly forced her against the wall, pinning her arms to her sides. It echoed dully in the hallway, and she was shocked speechless. Her hood had fallen down, revealing a worried face and startled violet eyes.

"_Never_ speak to me like that again," he growled. She blinked rapidly, not comprehending how suddenly his emotions had changed. Something was very, very wrong. She was too confused to defend herself and she didn't want to hurt Robin although he was hurting her. Again she was reminded of their position in the Med Bay. He had hurt her then, and she hadn't retaliated. Was she getting weak?

His hot breath was in her face now, her arms breaking into goosebumps. If it had not been for the pain their stance would have almost been…sexual. Their breath mingled in the air. And he dove.

Robin's lips crashed upon hers, smothering any dream of breath or escape. He felt hot and sweaty and masculine and she felt inferior beneath his crushing lips. One hand had left her shoulder now and pushed dangerously against her defined curves. She tried to call out, break him from this odd turn in mood, but his emotions combined with hers were making her quite dizzy. His hand was grasping at her body roughly now, and she just couldn't help arching into his warm body. Her mind was spinning, but not from the pleasure. It felt dangerous, she was slipping, her head was pounding like the rampant heart in her chest. It hurt it hurt it hurtttt…

Cyborg entered the hallway then, his jaw clacking open at the sight he saw. "Man, what the hell are you doing?!" His scream was impossibly angry. After all, the leader had gone much too far. In his surprise, a startled Robin let go of Raven, and she dropped to the floor with her head in her hands. Raven's eyes were squinted tightly and her face was drawn and pale.

Cyborg rushed to help the frail female to her feet, but was interrupted by the screeching alarm. Her eyes scrunched further upon the offending noise, her pale fingers tightening to a bone white around her forehead until Cyborg felt his own head hurting. The cybernetic teen knelt at his friend's side and gently encircled her in his arms, helping the girl from falling backwards. "Man, what is wrong with you?!" he roared.

They were interrupted by the entrance of a green boy. The teen quickly glanced about and was unable to decide the situation, so he worriedly blurted, "We have to go. There are a still few criminals that weren't brought back to Arkham." Beast Boy didn't want to know why Robin looked so furious, why Raven looked so broken. He knew better than anyone that sometimes ignorance was the best path.

The team left the tower in an odd formation. Beast Boy took to the sky, eager to be away from any possible problems. Robin sped away on his motorcycle, dangerously fast. The T-Car then set out with Cyborg and the two female titans within. Any consistent enemy of the titans would have immediately noticed the dysfunction of the team; it was terribly obvious.

When the titans arrived at the scene, Robin's motorcycle loudly halted and his face, just for a moment, seemed fearful.

Standing amidst the rubble and throngs of mindlessly scattering citizens stood an enemy that Robin knew quite well; The Scarecrow. To be truthful, he was one of the few that Robin had ever really feared.

"Titans," Robin's voice was tight and controlled, "Don't listen to anything he says, and don't inhale any smoke or anything around him." The Teen Titans were confused by this order, but their leader had rarely been wrong before, and so they intended to obey. However, that was not such an easy task.

First the underprepared Beast Boy rammed into The Scarecrow in the form of a rhino, missing his leader's desperate but late call of, "Beast Boy, no physical contact!" The instant the green boy came in contact with the villain there was a flash of smoke and he seemingly dropped out of his rhinoceros skin and into his normal form, curling up into a fetal position and screaming cries of bloody murder. Sweat was mingling on his face with tears. Robin took a look at the faces of his teammates then; they suddenly seemed to understand the fear that was turning his stomach. He saw Starfire attempt to go to the boy's aid, then said just loudly enough for her ears, "Star, no one can stop it. It has to run its course." Robin seemed to have lost his hope, and although Raven had by no means forgiven him, she pitied him.

Cyborg shot angrily at the villain, his screaming friend giving him a reason for an unleveled hatred. The Scarecrow chuckled and dodged the blast effortlessly; in his rage, Cyborg had acquired terrible aim. The villain raised a pistol then, and Cyborg at first was not concerned; after all, he could easily dodge a bullet. But from the pistol erupted a green gas, and Cyborg couldn't help but breathe it in. The large teen fell to his knees and then to the ground with a cry of anguish.

Robin looked for his two remaining teammates. "No! Starfire!" he called, his voice suddenly hoarse. The alien girl had knelt next to Cyborg and placed her hand on his chest. Immediately her eyes went blank- a look that chilled even Raven to the core- and the girl seemed to no longer be living.

Robin knew that it would be redundant to inform Raven that Starfire had contracted the gas's chemical infection by touching Cyborg's chest. Looking at Raven pained him now; he had never before seen her so shocked. Her eyes were opened so widely that he could have sworn that she was already imagining the fears she would experience.

"Raven, stay calm and stay behind me." She nodded almost imperceptibly at his order. He saw that her hand trembled as she withdrew it inside her cloak. That shouldn't have seemed so significant; Robin's hand was shaking as well when he pulled it from the handle of his R-Cycle. For a moment the two shared a glance, then both swallowed hard at the screams of their friends so loud in the background.

A silent agreement passed between them, and Robin ran forward, his bo staff extended. Raven hovered in the rear, hands lit. Robin leapt from place to place as he swung at the Scarecrow, attempting to avoid contact. As he ducked and rolled around the Scarecrow, Raven attempted to use her powers to restrain his arms behind his back. She was having some trouble with this, as she was having trouble getting to the quickly moving Scarecrow due to the possibility of hitting Robin.

The Scarecrow, who had done no physical attacks the entire battle, surprised Robin by raising a fist and punching it to his stomach. The boy fell back in his surprise, and the villain picked the boy up by his spiky black hair, throwing him backwards. Raven then flew towards the Scarecrow, hands encased in her glowing black aura. But as she raised her blackened fist, the villain caught her wrist easily and thrust her back to the ground. Raven got up quickly, disgruntled, but before she had a moment to blink, the corpse-like hand gripped tight around her throat.

And as Robin's eyes cracked open from where he lay on the ground, he saw his strong friend tearing helplessly at the hand tightening on her windpipe. He was afraid for her then, but then saw the black aura creeping over the Scarecrow. It jolted him, and he let out a cry, throwing the girl's body to the ground and vanishing between a set of buildings. Robin heard Raven groan, and he sat up slowly.

"Raven," he called, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she rose slowly, quietly cussing at a stabbing pain in her leg. The ground was littered with broken shingles from rooftops, and she had cut herself deeply upon her fall.

The two standing heroes took a look at their friends; to Robin's horror, the three titans were still screaming and convulsing. It was a truly horrifying sight.

Raven's pale hand was at her mouth, and in a swift movement she knelt first by Beast Boy's side. As she pulled out her hands, Robin interrupted her, "Raven, don't do it! What if-"

She gave him a cold stare. "Would you rather them stay like this forever?"

He was about to argue, but instead just sighed. "Alright. You can try to heal them. But if anything goes wrong, you'll have to stop."

Raven placed her hands on the green teen's chest.

**A/N- Yeah, so…I don't know too much about the Scarecrow, and therefore he was very lame in battle; so sorry about that. Next chapter will be just as action-packed. I'm amazed that I wrote a chapter this long, and I may update again pretty soon. **

**Until next time,**

_Ignite the Airwaves_


	5. Strain

**A/N- It seems I need to clear up a bit of confusion. The Scarecrow was a character that I felt I didn't do justice because he is NOT MINE, but a villain from Batman (hence the Arkham breakout). Okay, rant over. General thanks to **buddybuddy96, animallver12, SevenScars, SRC, Tsuki- hime Neko, PinkPanther123, Foxwox, Embraced By The Darkness, Infernal Damnation, Shizuku Tsukishima749, gwacie21**, and **not trigon… i toled uuuuuuuu.

**Since my winter vacation just started today, I should be updating everything soon. Sorry again, crazy high school. But now here we are…**

Battle Scars

Chapter 5: Strain

Robin gritted his teeth. He didn't know what healing psychological wounds would do to Raven, but he had to admit that she was right; he couldn't just wait and hope that his friends would heal. He needed to take action. _She_ needed to take action.

As soon as the glow spread around her fingers, Robin saw Raven's entire body tense. He made a move to stop her, but she gritted her teeth hard and refused to meet him in the eyes in that horribly stubborn way of hers. A full minute passed, and Robin observed first the tensing of Raven's muscles, the tightening of her jaw, and her darkened eyes squinted in furious concentration. Slowly, he noticed that her breaths had become clipped and husky.

In one short moment, her eyes shot open wide and her concentration splintered with a scream.

There was a flash of red, and Raven fell away with a grunt of pain. She landed on the splintered shingles with a moan, and Robin was at her side in an instant.

"Raven…," he said. Her eyes were closed, and Robin noticed that among the slashes of red scattered across her legs and arms from the sharp-edged shingles, there was no outward sign of injury. He put his hand on her shoulder, and her eyes fluttered open.

"They…were taking…no, Robin, don't let them!" she spouted breathlessly, eyes sparkling and wet. He gripped her hand, and was shocked to feel it clammy and cold. Her eyes were bleary and unfocused, and Robin squeezed her hand. "Raven, concentrate. You have enough self control to break through this. It's all the fear gas." To be truthful, he didn't know what the hell it was. He just needed her rationality to return, because that was all that was keeping him grounded.

And finally, after a few painfully muted cries, he felt her hand squeeze his, weakly but defined, and slowly Raven surfaced. He saw a defined blink, and then the girl cast him a disorientated gaze. She sat up slowly, too weakly for his taste. There were still bandages on her legs from her earlier mysterious injuries, and they were growing ripped by the wear and tear of injury. He imagined that her body had to be in agony from all the strain placed upon it, but that was a thought to be kept for later.

"Raven, what happened?" He couldn't help but question her immediately. She winced slightly, and he lowered his voice. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she muttered, pulling her hand from his and hastily getting to her feet, "Just fi-," she stumbled over her feet drunkenly, and Robin caught her right before she could fall.

"Raven. Tell me what happened." He helped her to stand, just barely noticing how her leg had trouble erecting itself.

She sighed, long and hard. "As I was healing Beast Boy, I saw-," she hesitated and bit her lip as the dream rushed back to her, "I saw the images the Scarecrow had implanted. It-it was horrible." Raven's gaze fell to her feet, and Robin frowned. Glancing over at Beast Boy, he noticed that the boy's cries had ceased and body relaxed into a natural position. In a quick moment, Raven was again at his side.

"No, Raven, you can't…,"

She cut him off with a dangerous stare, and it immediately seemed that all pain had fled from her. But Robin knew her too well to believe that.

"Listen to me, Raven, it's too dangerous, the Scarecrow could have known that you were going to heal them, he could have planted toxins just for-," Raven raised her hand.

"Robin, they can't stay like this forever. I can handle it. If you don't trust me, at least trust my endurance." He knew that she was right, although he was too stubborn to admit it. So he crossed his arms and watched, expression unchanging, as she tensed and moaned as the fear seeped from Beast Boy into her guarded mind. He couldn't help but wonder what fear she could possibly be seeing that would faze her.

She moved on to the other two; Starfire was the hardest to cure, and Cyborg the easiest due to his half-metal brain compensating to her advantage. Robin hated the way the pain flitted across her face when she pulled away their fear, how large of a toll it was taking on her. As she finished healing Cyborg, the light around her hands fractured, and she fell back, eyes closed. As she had been kneeling, it was no fall to worry about. He could tell that she fell unconscious only because of the physical strain and emotional exhaustion. Before Robin could assist her, Beast Boy sat up.

"Beast Boy, how are you doing?"

He scratched his head, "It was a super creepy dream, y'know, but then all of a sudden it was just gone and stuff." His glance flickered to Raven as Robin's did, and Beast Boy asked, "Did she…?"

Robin nodded.

"Dude…,"

Slowly, the other two titans rose. Raven remained unconscious, but Robin was sure that it was nothing serious. The titans brought their friend to the tower, and laid her in her room beneath the warm purple sheets, as they knew her distaste for the medical bay.

Sadly, just as the titans had no conception of Raven's healing transferring her their wounds, they had no clue what toll their fears would take on her resting mind.

**A/N- All done! Finally. I hope you all like it. I stayed up late just for you, and because I really wanted to get this done. Hit me up with plot ideas.**

**Until next time,**

_Ignite The Airwaves_


	6. Of Dreams and Darkness

**A/N- I really wanted to do this chapter, and I kept putting it off. The general review thank yous go out to** DARKNESSbleeding, PinkPanther123, Mwahahahaha18, K7083, Shizuku Tsukishima749, Telula, Tsuki- hime Neko, buddybuddy96, ninjacat5, guardyanangel, The Nemean Lion, SevenScars**, and **serenityshair.

Infernal Damnation**: That would be awesome. If I hit a dead end, I'll shoot you a message, definitely. **

**It's amazing to see that I have all these new reviewers so late into the story! Thank you all.**

Battle Scars

Of Dreams and Darkness

It was a night darker than any the titans could ever remember. The four of them sat in a peculiar silence on the couch, beneath the flickering and distant light of the television, afraid to ask each other for comfort or even share their fears. Starfire had been sobbing softly; her head had come to rest on Cyborg's shoulder, the one who was closest to her on the green couch.

Beast Boy had kept his longest silence to date, and Cyborg was stony. Robin had no smoke-induced fear to reflect upon, however; his fear was very real and alive at that moment.

His thoughts were on Raven, sleeping much too silently in her bed. Too alone; but to go and sit beside her would be too weird, even for him. He remembered her howl of pain, the fear frozen on her face as she healed her friends. She was so incredibly strong, and so selfless. This he admired just as much as her strong-willed determination.

Robin's eyes flickered back to the screen. An infomercial had been playing for the past two hours, and no one seemed to have noticed. A quick glance showed him that they were all asleep, drool dribbling at the edge of Beast Boy's mouth. Robin quietly rose to his feet, the imprint he had made in the couch rising and reforming to its original state. He took one final look at his dreaming teammates and entered the corridor.

Raven had known many a haunted sleep; the prophecy had turned her dreams over into the most horrid of nightmares. But those terrifying nights were nothing compared to the fears of her friends.

The cliff was crumbling, and at every step she took it felt a little less stable. The sky was so black above her that she could no longer see her hands in front of her face. The cliff suddenly gave beneath her foot, and Raven was falling, falling. Ghostly hands grasped tight at her body, grasping and pulling and wrenching her limbs from their sockets, suffocating her with iron grips. And then the hands were gone and she had hit solid ground with a pain too real to be a dream. And the sinister chuckling built to a crescendo from all around her, until Raven was quavering with fear. She still felt the pale fingers of Death caressing her, calling her name. If they call your name, you need to follow. They never take a refusal, not the white angels. They were his, she knew this. They were Trigon's.

And Raven's premonitions were never incorrect. She would not follow them, though her mind and soul was begging for that beautiful exit, the clean escape. The crying of the white angels was heartbreaking; how could she sit back and let them mourn her? - She had to accompany them! But although her mind felt torn, Raven gathered herself tightly and rocked, breathing hitched.

And the angels were growing impatient. In a horrible screeching moment, they shed their white skins to the cracked earth. Their bodies were red and scaled, and they advanced upon Raven, talons piercing at her fragile skin and she screamed and the fires grew brighter and hotter.

and now she was burning the lights oh they were roasting her at the stake oh the witch they laughed and she choked smoke black smoke coughing and retching and burning and flaring…

He had subconsciously directed himself towards her room, and he couldn't help but chuckle at his mind's subtlety.

He chuckled, until he heard the screams and froze in his step.

In a moment, he had raced down the hall to _her_ room and his steel boot connected hard with the door and slammed into the ground. He felt his heart plummet at the sight, and he knelt by the silhouette beneath the lavender sheet.

Her mouth was contorted in a frozen scream of horror, cold sweat coating her body like a second skin. The sheets were suffocating her pale form, and the convulsing of her sickened body was horrible to watch. And then there were the screams.

They were horrendous, bloodcurdling, chilling the blood in his veins. Her pain was so great that he was truly frightened, more frightened than one of the Scarecrow's hallucinations could have ever made him.

His hands shook her body frantically, desperately.

"Raven, please wake up. Please!" Her limbs felt so fiery, burning, roasting. He withdrew his hands in shock. "No, Raven, come on!" His pleading was so pitiful that despite the situation he hoped that no one could hear such a weakness.

Her fever was rising steadily; it seemed like the heat was coming off in waves, recreating the entire bedroom as on oven. Robin was baking in it. He ran to her adjoined bathroom and gathered a few towels, dousing them in the ice water from her sink. He then approached Raven's moaning form and ripped the sheets from around her, realizing with horror that they were weighed down with her sweat and wet with it as well.

Then he tossed the cold towels around her body, pulling them tight against her skin. Her moaning subsided, and instead of spasms, she instead began to shiver. Robin lied next to her on the bed, adjusting the towels, and wrapped his arms tight around her waist. The relieved boy leaned over to murmur in her ear, although she seemed unresponsive.

And the flames were dying down now, sputtering. The demons were still clawing at her, but they seemed much less frenzied, like they couldn't fight anymore.

As Raven's vision faded to black, she heard a deep whisper. And it scared the demons, extinguished the flames.

"You had me so worried. Please, Raven, be okay."

**A/N- Okay, so the end was a bit cheesy. But I quite honestly couldn't resist it. And her dream may have come out a bit odd, but it proved hard to write. And don't forget, just because Raven is okay now doesn't mean that she will be forever! Stay on your toes. **

**Until next time,**

_Ignite the Airwaves_


	7. Confusion

**A/N- Here I am! Are you excited? I sure hope so. General review thanks to **DARKNESSbleeding, PinkPanther123, Moving Mountains, XDark-Titan, The Nemean Lion, Tortor, Telula13, buddybuddy96, Shizuku Tsukishima749, Infernal Damnation, **and** serenitys heir. **Here we go!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans, it probably would be too violent for Cartoon Network.**

Battle Scars

Chapter 7: Confusion

When Raven awoke, her body felt sticky and cold. Teeth chattering, she sat up slowly and cast a look of confusion at the wet towels clustered tightly around her body. Raven tightly crossed her arms across her chest, hoping for any sort of warmth. Her cloak was on the chair, she could reach it, just if she- Her attention was diverted by a noise, and Raven squinted to make out Robin's form at the foot of her bed. He was standing a few yards away from her, and had loudly cleared his throat to catch her attention.

"Are you…um…feeling any better?" He scratched his head, seeming uncomfortable. She ignored his question and replied with her own.

"Why exactly are you in my room?" Her eyes were a cat's, large and unblinking, and she noticed him turning a wet towel nervously in his hands. Her eyebrow rose. Something weird was going on…

"Well, I was going to my room late last night, and I heard you screaming." He was obviously bewildered that she couldn't remember.

Now it was Raven's turn to feel confused. She had screamed? She had a pounding headache, sure, but no one had attacked her in the night. She would remember such an occurrence. Right?

"I thought you might be in trouble. When I came in, you felt like you were burning up, and it kept getting worse. I was using those wet towels to cool you down." Raven gasped suddenly, and he started. Her hand flew to her mouth, and suddenly the dream returned in all of its horror. The fire of the demons, the gasping and choking and screaming. Her breathing became strangled and crackly, and Robin ran to her side. He sat next to her on the bed, rubbing her back soothingly. She leaned into him with a muffled cry, and then for a painfully sharp moment, all was silent.

Her breathing was still heavy and fast, but not irregular, and that calmed him considerably. "Raven," he held her at arm's length. She looked so pale, so terribly pale. The redness of her eyes made a terribly distinct contrast, and discolored her face even further. "What's going on, Raven? You can't possibly tell me that nothing's wrong."

She shuddered, and he loosened his grip on her shoulders, suddenly aware that he had been squeezing them tightly.

"Robin…I'm afraid."

He gaped a bit, and looked into the girl's wide and fearful eyes. She was serious. Raven, admitting her fears? And then, his own eyes widened in realization. Of course! When she had healed Beast Boy, had she not recoiled with a cry? She had told him to ignore it, that she was fine. She had gone on to heal the rest of their friends, relieving them from their fears. And then Robin realized that healing their friends while in the gas-induced state had transferred the full power of the gases to Raven in their most potent form. Robin wouldn't even have been surprised if the Scarecrow had planned it that way.  
But wait. If Raven had obtained the hallucinations, then didn't that mean that she always received their wounds through healing, both physical and emotional? He thought of the unexplained injuries that he had found beneath her cloak. Robin exhaled slowly.

Poor, poor, poor Raven. His eyes softened, and he pulled the girl into a hug. She didn't even resist it. He knew that for her to accept a hug, she had to be very out of her wits.

"Robin?" Her voice was small.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry." She hung her head, making her frame seem emaciated.

"What could you possibly be sorry for?" Robin wanted to laugh, but just the way her body was angled, the way that her bones looked sharp and jaunty under tight alabaster skin made him stay quiet.

"For being afraid," she whispered. "I know I need to be stronger. I'm sorry, oh Azar, I'm sorry. Please, please, I'll try harder. Just let me stay. I want to stay." Her eyes couldn't focus on his, so she cast a disorientated gaze at her violet sheets, bunching them up between her fingers.

He was bewildered, but scared to laugh at her, because she seemed so sincere and vulnerable. She cringed as his voice penetrated the air.

"Raven, I would never ask you to leave! Where the-," he stopped himself and picked up a quieter tone, "I mean, where would you get a crazy idea like that?" He fought to keep his voice quiet and even. "None of this is your fault. The Scarecrow's gas has affected you. Eventually, the visions will cease, and then you won't be afraid anymore. _There is nothing to be afraid of_." He uttered the last sentence with a firm intensity.

"Robin?" She sounded stronger now, if only a little bit, and he was empowered by it. He responded, his voice ringing with a bit of hope.

"Yes?"

To his surprise, Raven's eyes were cold and harsh. "Don't you dare lie to me." Her hand closed tight around his wrist, and he looked up, shocked. Her eyes looked steely now, but he could feel that she was still shaking. He wouldn't fall for the façade that she was building with her words. She couldn't even manage to fool herself, and that in itself was quite pitiful.

"I would never lie to you, Raven. You know that."

She issued a cruel, bitter laugh that was quite uncharacteristic of her. "Sure thing, Red X."

Robin's face reddened and he abruptly rose. "Sorry for trying to help. Next time you scream, I'll just keep walking." He walked towards the door, and Raven's stomach plummeted.

"Robin, please…," He heard her murmur.

"If you want to be such a smartass, you can help yourself." He exited and the door slammed harshly behind him.

The violet-haired girl took one look at the books littering her floor and the crumpled sheets in her hands. The colors seemed muted, and unreal. But this was reality. That was real Robin, and she was real Raven. But she couldn't be sure. That conversation had been quite the nightmare. Was she even really awake?

**A/N- Whoo, that felt a little weird and off balance. I'm losing my mojo, but I'll keep trying! Raven may have been pretty OOC, but it wouldn't work any other way. This chapter kept coming out so weird that I rewrote it a few times. Hope it's okay now. **

**Until next time,**

_Ignite the Airwaves_


	8. Without Help

**A/N- I'm back. Shaky, but back. Spring break means most likely updates on everything going right now. I may abandon my story Heart and pick up Predator again, but that remains to be seen. General review thanks to **PinkPanther123, Monday'sChild-Wednesday'sFan, buddybuddy96, Tsuki- hime Neko, Tortor, yankeesgeek2.0,** and **wolffreak882**.**

**DARKNESSbleeding- She called him Red X in reference to the time when Robin himself lied to the entire team and was the one behind the suit. **

**~ Super thank you to **Infernal Damnation** for helping me to get some new ideas rolling. ~**

Battle Scars

Chapter 8: Without Help

It was a cruel disaster. Raven tittered nervously as the room around her grew dark through the thin black shades. How long had it been since Robin had sat next to her? Hours, days? No one had come to check on her since then, but she wasn't surprised. They were all afraid of her, and she knew it. The way Robin had looked at her, with such disgust and loathing, as he had left…

_They don't even like you. They're just using you._

"Shut up." Raven said these words to the ceiling, her eyes shut tightly. Her fists were clenched deep into her blankets, and anyone that knew her personally would be able to tell that she had been attempting meditation. And failing, thanks to the pestering voice. Not that anyone else would have been able to hear it.

_Why? I'm the one telling you the truth, Raven. Why don't you listen to me?_

The girl on the bed rocked herself further, whispering heavily under her breath. "It's not true…come on, fight it, Raven, you can fight it…." Her eyes had grown ringed with a purple darker than her hair.

_I know you want it to be true. _She stopped in shock, and her eyes shot open wide. _So why not let it be so? _

"You're just a voice…in my head…you're not real!" She cried out in indignation, clutching tightly at her head, shaking it viciously.

"Oh, but I am." The voice was now concrete. Raven gasped as from the shadows, a man staggered towards her, and soon she recognized the haggard form before her.

"Scarecrow!"

"Oh, you remember me? I'm quite flattered, really."

"Get. Away," she shot out through gritted teeth. Her hands had gone dark with her power, and she hoped that the Scarecrow couldn't see that her hands were trembling. He would not scare her, he would not scare her, she would not let him, no she would not. It was like having another mantra, thinking this so devoutly.

"Now, now, Raven. There's no need for any of that. I assure you, if you come quietly-," He was interrupted, though not surprised, by a disc of black magic that narrowly missed his head. Raven cursed under her breath. Her mind suddenly felt so much clearer, now that she could see him and knew it was he who should be blamed. The clarity was astonishing, in fact. It was creating this dull ache right at the back of her head, beautifully distinct pain.

"Now, don't say I didn't warn you." And he raised his hands and there was blackness and-

She was screaming, screaming, tearing her hair out onto her deep shaggy carpet but her hands were claws and she was killing. She felt death, she saw death, tasted it thick in her mouth. And beneath her, the hellfires and now the angels were ripping off her skin and underneath she was red and hissing and oh it hurts please stop I'll do anything please stop and the fires hurt me and oh my god it hurts it hurts I'm burning.

And the Scarecrow stood and laughed at the girl who had fallen to her knees before him. "Keep on screaming, girl. We both know little Robin promised you he wouldn't come running this time. It's just you and me. Keep on screaming, if it helps you. You have quite a lovely scream."

She didn't know how she wasn't dead yet, with all this pain and it won't stop and mom I'm sorry and he's not my father! he'll kill me I'm sorry I tried so hard I wanted to be good I promise I was good and they're cutting and peeling and digging and I'm screaming and screaming and why is no one coming I'm screaming so loud where are you and I'm screaming and crying and I'm dying. And I'm dying…

The girl fell forwards onto the floor, her entire body quivering with an aftershock of the horrendous pain. The man before her laughed. "Too easy. Now it will be easy to observe the effects that my gas set upon her. But carefully, of course. If the gas gets to her brain, in time, this may prove very interesting."

"Robin, she fucking screamed!" Cyborg yelled at his leader. They heard another long peal of screaming and shouts, that sounded oddly like begging. Cyborg's heart sank, and from the corner of his eye he saw Beast Boy trying his best to keep collected and Starfire pressing her hands over her ears with a flat, continuous whimper.

"There's nothing wrong with her. I told you." Robin said this coolly, and took a long swig from his can of soda.

"You little spiky-haired bastard, don't you hear that?!" Cyborg motioned to the upper floor. "No one makes that shit up. I'm going to help her."

"Cyborg, you are not going upstairs. That's an order."

There was a long moment when the two friends stared each other down, both unwavering. Finally Cyborg broke the gaze and muttered, "Screw your fucking rules." And he began to march right up the stairs.

"Cyborg, get back here, right now!" Robin ran after Cyborg, swinging his fist in anger. "Listen to me right now. I am your leader, and I-!" His voice cut out as he and Cyborg left the room. The other two titans looked at each other in silent wonder, but couldn't bring themselves to rise and see what was about to unfold.

Cyborg was barreling forwards now, completely ignoring the boy on his tail. Something was wrong with Raven, and they weren't about to ignore it. His heavy iron steps echoed down the corridor, and as he approached the door neatly marked **RAVEN** he blasted it down.

Robin ran in behind him, infuriated. "Cyborg, your blatant disregard-." But then he realized that Raven was missing from the room, and he froze in surprise. Crimson stained the thick carpet. At his touch, it came off wet. He rubbed the pad of his thumb against his forefinger. The blood was so red. Then he noticed a shred of paper lying on Raven's bed. He read it quickly, then clenched it tightly in his fist, expression going taut with fury.

"Robin, what happened?"

Robin looked again at the letter in his hand, and his chest swelled painfully. "Cyborg," he said, voice faltering, "I've made a horrible mistake." The cybernetic teen, growing impatient, ripped the note from the boy's hand.

_Titans,_

_You didn't come when she screamed. Be careful. The guilt from that is the kind of thing that would keep someone up at night, hmm? Be afraid for her and yourselves. Fear does not rest for the heroes._

He didn't need a signature to know who had left the message. "We need to go find her."

"Absolutely," Robin agreed, "Call Beast Boy and Starfire and gather any information you can about where the Scarecrow may have gone before heading out."

Cyborg turned towards Robin as the boy wonder headed out the door. "And what are you going to do?" Robin turned his head over his shoulder.

"I'm going to go down where the shit really happens; the streets."

Cyborg nodded, but as he headed out, Robin began to think of how much he needed to see Raven again. And that made him realize just how much he needed to see the beautiful sorceress again. And it made him realize that he really did love her, whether she loved him or not.

**A/N- So, done! Are you proud? Good. So, my plot ideas have sprung back, so I'll be writing normally again in no time. I din't realize I'd keep involving the Scarecrow, it was a bit impromptu, but for the record, HE IS A BATMAN CHARACTER. Not mine. And he's probably OOC, because I know close to nothing about him. **

**Until next time,**

_Ignite the Airwaves_


	9. Search

**A/N- So. Hey. I'm not dead. Though with all the work I've had, I should be. This chapter took me forever to write too. Review thanks to **Infernal Damnation, Shizuki Tsukishima749, PinkPanther123, DARKNESSbleeding, budddybuddy96, yankeesgeek2.0, Tsuki-hime Neko, Linda rav-star,** and **S. Legossi.

**Here we go!**

Battle Scars

Chapter 9: Search

The motorcycle rocketed through the streets, startlingly loud for such a late hour. As it ripped through the night, the few citizens still littering the sidewalks watched it with a mixture of surprise and worry. Was their city under attack? What else could make the resident hero, Robin, so determined?

As he drove further into the town, there were many more people on the streets. However, these people seemed to have chosen to spend the harsh night outdoors. Some seemed to not have a choice in the matter. Men huddled against store corners, eyes squeezed shut, ratty blankets pulled high, wishing it all away. Others passed information and substances through hands and mouths. They all backed away when the saw him coming, scattering into their holes of alleys and side streets. He revved the bike again, then finally pulled up harshly to the curb, right in front of two men completing a discreet exchange. They had no time to hide, for he was in front of them in a second. Robin grabbed the collar of one of the men, pushing him hard into the brick wall behind him.

"Tell me where the Scarecrow is hiding."

The man in his grasp let out a nervous chuckle, and the other man began an attempt to creep away, somehow believing it could work.

"You stay right there." Robin, not even flinching, pulled a birdarang out with his other hand, aiming towards the one who had almost escaped. Now both of the criminals were stationary, eyes on the hero. "I believe I asked you a question. It doesn't matter to me who answers it, as long as it's answered." He increased the pressure on the man's throat, and he let out a gasping noise. "Right now. Or I'll kill him."

"You-you wouldn't," said the man who had almost gotten away, shock etched across his grizzled face, "You're one of them Teen Titans. You can't do that."

Robin laughed harshly. "I can do whatever the hell I want. Tell you what. I'll make you a little deal. You tell me where I can find the Scarecrow, and I'll leave you both alive. I won't even take your 'merchandise.'"

It was silent for a long moment, but Robin did not waver. Finally, the man pinned to the wall by the green glove spoke. "Well, I don't know for sure, but I-I've heard some rumors."

Robin's expression remained unchanged. "And?"

"Well, um, supposedly, the Scarecrow is in the old buildings across town. Those ones the city just slated for demolition last week."

"Are you sure?" His tone was cutting, and his grip tightened on the collar.

He hacked out a cough. "Positive."

Robin released him, a disgusted expression on his face. "Have fun doing business with each other. You better hurry before the cops show up." He straddled his motorcycle before speeding off, deeper into Jump City's seedy neighborhoods. The men looked at each other as one straggled to his feet, bemused and amazed at their luck. They were only left to wonder the gravity of the situation as the bike sped on.

But as fast as Robin could go, he regretted that he did have to stop and call Cyborg, because he realized that he had no idea where the hell these old buildings were.

Meanwhile, Raven had just awoken to a horrible, broken feeling. Her limbs felt like they were heavy and buzzing, and she couldn't determine whether this was a good or bad thing. She attempted to summon her healing powers to correct the nauseating feeling, but the strain she was exerting (to little result) proved to her that healing would have to be put off for the moment. Her fingers felt numb against each other as she rubbed them together and shivered, quavering breaths throwing mist into the frosty air, and every breath she drew enlarged the pit weighing down her stomach. Everything was so cold, so cold. After the hellfire one would think that cold would be welcome. But instead it just stuck harshly in her throat, thick and stale.

The next thing that she noticed was the room around her. It was black, so dark that it was bright, and hurt to focus on for long periods of time. After some time, she was sure that she was seeing images in the room, but they had to be hallucinations.

There was one thing that Raven did remember. The Scarecrow had taken her. For what reason, she wasn't yet sure. But Raven knew that no motive of the enemy could ever be good.

The first sound that Raven heard after waking was his laughter. It was booming across the room, and she couldn't help but cower at its sudden enormity, her hands flying up to block the noise from her ears. She couldn't see him, so where could that voice be coming from? It stopped as suddenly as it started, and Raven wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

"Don't you worry, Raven. It's only beginning. You don't even know fear yet. But I will show you. As will the visions that will come."

"What are you going to do with me?" Her voice was quiet and resigned, and it made the Scarecrow very happy.

"My dear, you will just have to wait and see."

**A/N- So sorry guys, I totally lost all writing motivation because I'm a horrible person. I'm going to try to update everything today though. Maybe. Argh. Don't kill me! I think my writing's improved since my last updates though, so chapter quality may start to improve. (Except this chapter was half written for like three months). Sorry again. **

**Until next time,**

_Ignite The Airwaves_


	10. Found But Lost

A/N- So um this is a new chapter? Yep. Here you go. It's…something. I can't decide if I like it or not.

Battle Scars

Chapter 10: Found But Lost

He could hear the screams from three blocks over. Robin raced the last few meters to the dilapidated houses, throwing his R-Cycle aside onto the ground as he ran towards the first house.

Another chilling scream. His heart was pumping furiously in his chest as he threw open another door. Where was it coming from? The scream was closer now, and very shrill and frightening and feminine. He knew it was Raven.

He threw open another door and slammed it shut, disgruntled. These goddamn condominiums were all linked together so he kept walking over into the next house. Then came a final, choked cry and he stopped in his tracks, eyes shut tightly. It was so silent that he could hear himself breathing. And the scream, it had come from right below him. Right now the sudden silence was what scared him the most.

Robin took a quick left turn and finally found what he had been looking for- a small door nestled under the stairs that would lead to a basement. He swung the door open, all stealth forgotten, and vaulted himself over the railing. He landed neatly on his feet and rose slowly, squinting. The room was so dark that it was hurting his eyes.

He suddenly became aware of someone breathing shallowly across the room. Robin cautiously followed the sound until he came upon a body curled on the ground. Hardly breathing for fear, Robin knelt down next to the body. Now that he was so close, he could finally see the pale skin and dark, ripped cloak, and he reached out his hand to touch Raven's face.

A thin hand firmly gripped his wrist, and shocked, Robin looked straight into Raven's eyes. He had an unnerving feeling that she couldn't see him at all.

"Raven…"  
"Get…get away." The hand on his arm was starting to shake. Robin reached down and gripped both of Raven's shoulders.

"Raven, it's me." She blinked hard and her gaze blearily focused on him.

"R-Robin? Don't- don't touch me, please."

He looked down at her, frowning. "What did he do to you?"

And then Robin heard that laugh, and he heard the door he had entered from swing shut. Raven's hands gripped his arms tighter, nails digging in so tightly that he winced. She felt torn between an instinctual need to keep him close, and an overwhelming fear of him.

"You've finally arrived, Robin. And guess what? Raven is afraid of you. How does it feel?"

"What? Raven isn't-," he looked down at her and saw that her eyes had gone cloudy again. He moved his hand toward her face and his heart sunk when she shied away from his touch.

The Scarecrow laughed. "It will never be the same, will it?"

"I'm going to get Raven to the tower and we'll reverse whatever you did!"

"Who said that you were going to be allowed to leave?"

Robin started to speak, but suddenly his chest felt heavy and he started coughing, harder and harder, until he was on all fours and gasping for breath. There was some kind of smoke- but he couldn't stop it from coming, not when his lungs were on fire like this.

"Ra-ra-raven…," he gasped out. The girl stayed where she was, although a faint flicker of emotion ran through her eyes. She slowly got to her knees beside Robin, but then stopped short when a hand grasped her shoulder.

"Now, now, little Raven." She looked up at him; her eyes had gone cloudy again, but her delicate hands were curling into fists. "Remember what he has done to you. They weren't dreams."

Robin was curled into a ball on the floor, his body occasionally wracked with dry coughs. Raven made another move to go towards him, but the Scarecrow's grip on her shoulder tightened.

"Young lady, it seems you haven't learned much from your stay here. Perhaps we need more time in the other room?"

Raven was more active now, shaking her head vigorously, fear etched onto her face.

"Oh, I think we do."

"No, please!" His hand fastened around her wrist, and she pulled away from him. "No!"

"Do you think you have a choice? I own you now, Raven."

"You will never own me!" Raven's eyes glowed white, and the Scarecrow stepped back in surprise. "You stay away!"

"You- you shouldn't be this powerful. You shouldn't be able to stand up to me." He was bewildered, and rightly so. Raven just smirked at him.

"Well, it seems that you've underestimated me." Her hands glowed with energy, and she shot it out towards him until it surrounded his whole body, flattening him against the wall.

"Stop the gas," she snarled.

"But I-,"

"Shut up, and do it. Before I lose my patience." The aura grew darker, creeping over the Scarecrow's face. Her head was pounding, and she swallowed hard so she could keep seeing straight, and maintain this short bout of control. Maybe it was all she needed to escape.

"Okay, okay!" He reached down to his jacket, arm still held back slightly by Raven's magic, and made a face like he was searching for something. Grinning, he pulled two small spheres from his pocket, and Raven made to stop him, but her response was too late. He threw them to the floor and startlingly bright light flared up around her with a release of gas. Raven brought her hand to her mouth to suppress the coughing, swearing when she realized that she had let go of the villain. It was too cloudy with gas now for her to pin him down and she couldn't muster the concentration to track him. The room was spinning, and she tried to clear away the fog but it stayed thick and yellow.

Suddenly a cold hand wrapped around her throat and she grabbed at it feebly. Her head was pounding even more severely now, and the gas was still thick. She felt the Scarecrow's grip tighten as he lifted her into the air, slamming her into the wall. Finally she saw his face emerge from the mist.

"You don't even know what fear is yet. Let me teach you." He brought his free hand closer to her face, as if he was going to touch her- she could hardly even see anymore, she just wanted to sleep, and his hand seemed like it was glowing- but then his grip slackened, and she fell to the ground.

"Don't you dare touch her." The mist had finally cleared, and Robin seemed to have gotten to his feet, albeit weakly, clutching at his side.

"And you think that you can stop me?" There was an explosion from above, and plaster rained from the ceiling.

"He can with our help." Cyborg appeared at the foot of the stairs, grinning triumphantly, flanked by Starfire and Beast Boy. "Robin, if you'd give the order?" Robin looked back at his teammate and smiled.

"Titans, go!"

Cyborg charged forward first, his sonic cannon glowing blue. Meanwhile, Starfire took a path in the air, shooting starbolts down on the Scarecrow from above. Beast Boy then morphed into a mouse and skittered to the Scarecrow's feet, transforming then into a snake and wrapping himself around the villain's legs. While the Scarecrow dodged Cyborg and Starfire's blasts with ease, the attack from Beast Boy surprised him and he fell, making Cyborg and Starfire's hits more effective.

Meanwhile, Robin ran to Raven's side, using his arms to gingerly pull up the upper half of her body. Her eyes opened slowly, but instantly widened when she saw Robin's face above her own.

"Robin- don't- get away- please, don't touch me. I…I," he could see conflicting emotions running freely across her face.

"Raven, it's me, I…" Her face settled into a state of utter confusion, but her body was still trembling in his arms.

"Don't worry Raven, we'll fix this. We'll make you better again." He called Cyborg over to them and had him pick up Raven, much to Cyborg's confusion. The rest of the team, having outmaneuvered the Scarecrow, elected to wait in the abandoned condominium for the police's arrival. Robin followed Cyborg out to the T-Car and picked up his R-Cycle, straddling it.

"I'll see you two back at the tower."

Cyborg, still confused, managed a nod as his friend sped away.

A/N- So there you go, that was it. There'll be more hopefully soon, but I can't make any promises. If I'm taking too long, just PM me like crazy and maybe it'll get my butt into gear. I hope you liked the chapter.


	11. Recovery

AN- I had it ready for a while now, but FF wouldn't let me upload. Enjoy!

Battle Scars

Chapter 11: Recovery

Robin looked up from his hands when Starfire and Beast Boy walked into the control room. He watched their faces expectantly.

"The Scarecrow has been taken into the custody of the police," Starfire said. "They said that he will be transferred to Arkham."

"Good job, guys." Robin nodded at them, and got up from the couch.

"Where's Raven?" Beast Boy asked.

"Cy's with her in the Med Bay." Robin walked towards the kitchen, opening one of the cupboards and blankly studying the contents. His hands were shaking, and for once Beast Boy noticed.

"Is she hurt?"

"Not really, no- well, not physically. Just, well… she's really afraid of me." Robin looked down at the counter, and his hands clenched to white fists. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and his tensed muscles relaxed.

"Raven will be healed, do not worry." Star's voice was strong, and Robin smiled.

"Thanks Star. Thanks." He sounded a little bit better, and her spirits rose.

Meanwhile, in the Med Bay, Cyborg was carefully helping Raven sit up. She was impatient with him, insisting that she could do it on her own.

"Rae, you have to take it easy."

She shrugged her shoulders a little bit, accepting the glass of water that Cyborg gave her. She looked down at her hands for a moment, and saw Cyborg move towards the cabinets in her peripheral vision.

He walked back towards her and she started to protest. "I'm fine, I don't need that. I feel fine." Cyborg rolled his eyes.

"Just accept it. You know you need it, you've seen your injuries. You're hurt. Why can't you ever accept that?" His hands were on his hips, the syringe still clutched in his hand. She swallowed and turned away.

"Okay, just do it quickly."

Cyborg obliged, pushing the needle into the muscle of her arm. She hissed quietly, and Cyborg retracted the needle, pressing gauze to her cut.

"Sorry."

She leaned back. "It's okay. But that wasn't morphine, was it? Not aspirin either. Otherwise you normally use the IV." Her tone was relaxed, but suspicious.

"Just relax, Raven. It's going to help you."

She didn't respond. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried her best to focus. Her emotions had to be going crazy, but the fact that she wasn't instantly aware of it was a bit frightening. She had almost reached the balance needed for meditation when a loud slam roused her.

Opening her eyes, Raven recoiled. Robin stood awkwardly in the doorway, and Cyborg was gone. Raven hadn't noticed him leave.

Robin cautiously walked towards her. "Look, Raven-," he reached out his hand.

"N-no." She shivered and turned away, her heart pounding. "Please go… I can't control this." She closed her eyes again, only to be greeted by a suffocating headache. When she opened them again, she was horrified to see Robin's mask right in front of her face.

"No!" she cried.

He grunted in annoyance and grabbed her arms, pinning them over her head. "Listen to me." His breath was hot, and tears ran down her face as she squirmed away from his grasp. His hold tightened, and she cried out.

"Let go of me, stop it! _Stop it_!" she cried out shrilly.

"Listen to me. Just fucking listen to me." He gripped her wrists even tighter, but her squirming continued. "I am so fucking sick of you acting like this. Just let it happen." He kissed her roughly, and she opened her mouth and screamed, her body thrashing beneath him. He grinned and moved one hand down to her waist, pulling her in closer.

He was broken from the lust when a thick arm propelled him into the wall. Robin looked blearily at the teen towering above him.

Oh shit.

Cyborg grabbed a fistful of Robin's shirt and lifted him into the air. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you spiky haired bastard?" Robin had never seen such anger in his friend's eyes.

"I-I-," Robin's pupils dilated, his eyes now wide and confused, "I don't know." Cyborg scoffed and dropped his leader to the ground, going to the side of his crying female friend. He tried to hug her, but she protested so loudly that he stepped away.

"Raven, please…," Robin was on his feet now, trying to walk towards her. "Please, I don't know what came over me, please. I don't- I didn't mean to."

"Go man, just go. We'll talk about this later."

"But Cy-,"

"No. Just, please, go. You've already done enough."

Robin turned to leave. He saw Cyborg turn back to Raven and speak to her gently. As soon as he was in the hallway, Robin's heart started racing and he ran to his room, collapsing onto the carpet with his head in his hands.

_What is happening to me? _

As hard as Cyborg tried, Raven wouldn't speak. He couldn't blame her; he could only blame Robin. He had to put her on a sedative just so she wouldn't go crazy; the gas was still weighing down on her central nervous system to the point where her blood pressure was dangerously high.

He ran a gentle finger down her cheek in an attempt to wipe away the tears. He still didn't understand much about the gas and Raven's current state of mind. All he knew was that Robin was completely out of his mind. It wasn't even the first time he had seen him forcing himself on her…what was happening? Anyway, didn't Robin like Starfire? Why was Robin fucking with Raven's head?

It just didn't make any sense.

Robin was surprised to hear a knock on his door late that night. He went to go open it, but stopped when he saw a white slip of paper slide under the doorframe onto his carpet. He picked it up gently; he could tell that the script was Raven's.

_The Scarecrow: I think he had another trick, Robin. I think… I think that you are acting more and more like Slade, and you're acting on rage and hate and everything else that you are feeling. And it's not your fault. I've seen your mind, and I think becoming Slade is what you fear the most. __Your greatest fear.__ Just think about it. I wish I could talk to you, but it isn't a good idea. Not now. I'll fix all of this, I promise. _

He frowned and read it a second time. In all honesty, Raven's theory made a lot of sense. But maybe they were both trying to find an excuse for his behavior and they were just imagining everything. He hoped that it wasn't the case. He really didn't want to hurt her any more.

She had to be so scared right now. Even if it had been under circumstances where her health was perfect and she wasn't so deathly afraid of him, he knew that what he had done- _would I have raped her if Cyborg hadn't come in?_ - was unforgivable.

And he had never wanted to speak to her more.

He wanted her to come crying into his room, letting him put his arm around her. Ironically, he wanted to comfort her in the very moment when it would hurt her the most. And then Robin realized how much he really missed his friend. _  
_


	12. New Hopes

AN- I hope you like it! Sorry for the wait.

Battle Scars

Chapter 12: New Hopes

Robin was afraid to talk to Cyborg the next morning, but knew that he had to and his feet took him to the control room before his mind could even catch up. He approached Cyborg cautiously.

"What?" Cyborg snapped.

Robin cringed. He hadn't ever thought of his friend as so hostile and intimidating before. He hadn't realized how tall and wide he was either. Robin cleared his throat twice, and when he spoke his voice was just a bit shaky.

"Raven had a good idea- I mean, um, I didn't talk to her!" Cyborg's eyebrow rose. "No, I didn't. I didn't. She put this note under my door and she had a good idea."

Cyborg sighed, clearly irritated. "And what was this idea?"

"Now just hear me out, Cy. When we initially handled the Arkham breakout, we went up against the Scarecrow. He remembered me; he attacked all of us, but the gas he used didn't seem to have any effect. But my biggest fear- at least, Raven thinks so- might be being like Slade. It might be hurting the people that I…that I care about. I think," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "_I think I might be afraid of hurting her just as much._ And that first time we faced the Scarecrow, and I got hit with the gas, it stayed with me. And that's why I've been hurting her. When I do it, I don't even know what's happening until someone physically pushes me away like you did. I mean I know you think I'm just making excuses, Cy, but I swear, I would never hurt Raven. I would never ever try to force myself on her. Come on, you know me. Please"

Robin could hear his heart thudding in his ears as he waited for Cyborg to respond. He was missing two friends now. Two. And he needed them both back before his head hurt any more under the strain.

"Okay. You know what, I can't say that I believe you just yet. But I know you must have a reason for telling me besides getting me to believe you. So what is it?" Cyborg's eyes looked a little bit kinder now.

"Okay. Well, because Raven is half-human, you ran tests on both of us last week and compared her medical tests to my own. But if Raven and I were both affected by the gas, then any medical test you run on the both of us should end up the same, but irregular in comparison to a normal subject."

"Oh, I get it. So I should rerun the tests on both of you and compare them to average human results instead. Hmm. Thanks Rob. This might- this might actually work." Cyborg smiled, and so did Robin.

"So we're good?" Robin asked.

"Getting there."

"Can I borrow the Gamestation?"

"Don't push it."

They laughed, and Robin felt happier than he had in weeks. He saw Starfire smiling from the couch, and she flew up to meet them.

"Let us run the tests and we will help Raven in the healing!" She flew exuberantly into the air, and the others followed her to the Med Bay. Raven was sleeping fitfully when they entered. Robin was surprised she had returned there after dropping the note at his room. Cyborg gently shook her awake.

"Wha…what?" she mumbled.

"Raven, we think that we know how to help you. We just need to run some tests again."

She coughed roughly and Cyborg winced sympathetically.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine." She coughed more harshly, her entire frame shaking. After the coughing fit ceased, she kept her eyes closed for a long moment. Cyborg placed a large hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him, eyes wet and tired.

"The gas is starting to affect your physical health. We need to run these tests as quickly as possible."

"Cyborg, no…"

"I'm sorry Rae, we have to." He inserted the needle into her arm and her eyes began to droop. She was asleep in seconds. Cyborg could see that she had lost weight. More weight than she had lost in her time away; her bones were jutting out under her skin.

"When there's this much pressure on her nervous system and the nervous system tries to get rid of the problem, what I think would normally happen is that her body, in trying to get rid of the gas, is using coughing as a way to empty her lungs of it. However, the gas isn't in her lungs for the most part, so the coughing will only get worse because her body's trying to get rid of the gas but nothing's coming out. It's a reflex."

No one spoke; they all seemed to be thinking. And they all seemed to be worried.

"Just…tell us how to help."

And they spent over three hours assisting Cyborg with blood tests and lung scans and an X-ray and a CAT scan and followed every procedure by doing the same to Robin. When they were finally done, Cyborg printed charts of a normal human's results from the online medical database and began to compare them.

"How's it looking?" Robin asked, pulling his sleeve down over a new bandage.

"Nothing weird yet…oh. Wait."

"What, what is it?"

"Here, check this out." Cyborg held three negatives in front of Robin. "The two on the right are you and Raven; the one on the left is normal."

"Whoa."

"Yeah, I know. The gas somehow is affecting your brains. It seems to have moved through your nervous system to your brain and is over-stimulating your amygdalae."

"And what exactly does all this science mumbo-jumbo mean?" Beast Boy asked, peering over Robin's shoulder.

"The amygdalae process emotional reactions, including fear. In stimulating them, the gas actually creates a deeper rooted fear than from his other gas. The effects from the other ones wore away because they only produced mild hallucinations; but these are really supposed to stay."

"But it can be healed, yes? Friends Robin and Raven will get better?"

"I hope so, Star. I have an idea. Rob, you okay?" Cyborg looked at his friend with concern. Robin was clutching his head and his face was pinched.

"Yeah…yeah. I just need to go get air for a second."

"Okay, go do that. I'm gonna start trying to fix Raven. It's a minor operation, but I think I can handle it. Just… Beast Boy, you should probably leave."

"What! Why?"

Robin left the room, still clutching at his head. He heard Beast Boy when he was far out in the corridor.

"I can stand blood! Are you serious? I won't mess anything up, I promise.I'll stand all the way over here."

Suddenly Robin couldn't hear them anymore. He dropped to his knees, holding back a cry. He could feel tremors ripping through his body, but for the life of him he had no idea what was happening and he was scared. Everything was just hurting so badly and he just kept thinking of his friends crowded around Raven, ready to start an operation.

"Hey dude, what's up? Why are you on the floor?"

Robin rose and looked at his green friend with dark, vicious eyes.


	13. Attacks

AN- It was a pretty bad wait, and I'm sorry, but we're almost done!

Battle Scars

Chapter 13: Attacks

The scream echoed eerily down the hallway. Cyborg and Starfire ran out of the Med Bay to help Beast Boy, who was lying prone on the floor.

"Shit," Cyborg muttered as he rolled his friend over. There was blood, dark and wet, smeared across the front of his shirt. "Shit. Shit. Star, carry him into the Med Bay and put him on the bed next to Raven's. Take off his shirt and try to bandage and clean him as best as you can. Hurry." He fought to keep his voice even, to keep her from being any more frightened.

She nodded bravely, and, eyes watering, lifted Beast Boy gently and carried him into the Med Bay. Cyborg watched her leave, and then looked further, to the shape shaking in the corner.

"Yo, Rob. Man, is that you? You okay?" Cyborg kneeled beside him and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. The shape shook even more, and then Robin turned around, teeth bared, and struck his best friend in the face. Cyborg reeled backwards in shock and pain. Robin growled threateningly.

"Hey, come on now, relax." He put his hands up defensively. "It's me, it's Cyborg."

Robin lunged again, and Cyborg narrowly avoided the attack by stepping to the side.

"Well it looks like we have to do this the hard way." Cyborg cracked his knuckles and braced himself for the next attack. As Robin jumped – very animalistic, Cyborg noticed – Cyborg managed to catch Robin by the wrists and hold him. Robin snarled ferociously and writhed, but Cyborg's grip remained tight. He shook his friend.

"Man, wake up! What is wrong with you? Hey, are you listening to me?" He glared into Robins' dilated pupils.

Suddenly the ferocity in Robin's eyes and expression diminished, and his pupils shrank to a normal size. He blinked rapidly, as if coming out of a daze.

"Wha…what? Cy, what are you doing?"

Cyborg cautiously let go of his friend's wrists, and Robin dropped to his feet. "You have no idea what just happened?"

"No. Not at all. Is that…_blood_ on the floor? What's going on here?"

"You attacked BB."

"No way. No. I couldn't have." He shook his head viciously, as if his denial would make him correct. But he could see the blood on the floor, and the look on Cyborg's face was so solemn that he could not be lying.

"Something's seriously wrong here, and I need to know what it is. Tell me now, or I'll just have to beat it out of you. I'm not kidding, Rob. Tell me what's up." Cyborg grabbed the front of Robin's shirt, and Robin defensively lifted his hands into the air.

"I really…I don't know. It's like it wasn't even me. I swear, I didn't mean to do it. I don't…I don't _remember_ doing it. It's my fear, isn't it? I'm so afraid of hurting you guys… Is Beast Boy okay?"

"I hope so, but he-," Cyborg was interrupted by a shrill scream. Eyes widening, he ran back into the Med Bay, Robin right on his heels. Raven was convulsing on the bed, Starfire trying desperately to keep her calm.

"Star, what happened?"

"Raven was merely sleeping, and-,"

Cyborg pushed the sedative into the IV bag.  
The fit was over as suddenly as it had occurred and Raven fell limply back onto the bed, letting out a soft whimper. Her body curled inward and Robin could see the sweat and tears mingling on her cheeks. He was going to go closer, to try to touch her or comfort her, but Cyborg stopped him.

"You'll scare her," Cyborg gently reminded him. "I need to talk to Raven, and I need to do this surgery. I'll need your help. Rob, can you do that for me? Just try to control yourself long enough, and then we'll help you too."

"Of- of course. Just tell me how to help."

Cyborg nodded and went to Raven's side, gently opening her clenched fists. She had already fallen back into a fitful sleep. Cyborg carefully rolled her from her side onto her back and turned to get a syringe from the table. Injecting it into her IV bag, her sleep became noticeably heavier as her muscles relaxed. Robin sighed with relief.

"Okay, Star, you might want to leave. This is going to be a little bit messy," Cyborg warned.

Her cheeks reddened, but she shook her head. "No, I will stay. I wish to assist. Allow me to assist you in any way that I can. I wish that Raven will become better."

Shrugging his shoulders, Cyborg leaned forward and gently propped Raven up on her pillow, bending her head slightly forward. Robin could tell from Cyborg's expression that despite his medical knowledge, what he was about to do was making him feel a bit sick.

"Rob, the scalpel."  
"Cy…"

"Just give it to me."

Starfire, despite her previous strength, could not watch the procedure, and went instead behind the curtain divider to tend to Beast Boy. She had seen blood, she had seen gore, but to see one friend opening a wound on another- it was too much.

Robin and Cyborg were having trouble concentrating; the smell of blood was getting stronger, and it was hard to concentrate. They couldn't look at Raven without feeling a pang of worry and fear. Cyborg had been working for over an hour now, trying to remove the parasitic spores of the gas, but so far there was no evidence that he had been successful. Faithfully assisting his friend, Robin stepped back in alarm as Cyborg reached the metal tool into Raven's brain yet again, and cried out.

"What? What happened?"

"I think I did it! I think I see what I have to do. Rob, I think she's going to be okay. We're all going to be okay."

"You think so?"  
"Yeah man." But then Cyborg frowned. "I just have to finish." He seemed to want to say more, so Robin prompted him.

"And?"

"And we need to see…if she's going to wake up."

AN- Merp that sort of sucked. Sorry, guys. I'm hardly feeling this one. Oh well, going to write more for my other fics. Hopefully I'll finish something. Why am I writing four at once. Me and my stupid large amount of ideas.


	14. Epilogue

AN- And here we go, a month later. It's all over, guys. Enjoy.

Battle Scars

Chapter 14: Epilogue

He was sitting by her bed when she woke, his head bandaged in the same exact fashion. When Robin had woken up, three days prior, he had been frightened to hear that Raven hadn't even begun to heal herself. But now her body finally levitated over the bed, and he watched it for hours until she finally opened her eyes.

"How do you feel?" he asked gently. They still had no idea if the surgery had worked, being that his own episodes of fear had been much less frequent than her own. For all he knew, she would still be afraid of him.

"Better." She smiled sincerely, and he felt a strange sort of twisting in his stomach. "And you?"

"Much better."

"Robin, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

She looked away for a moment, and he could swear that she was embarrassed.

"I know that when you- well, that it wasn't you before. But you- you were afraid of hurting me, but you didn't attack Starfire…" Her cheeks were red, but her voice was so sincere that he kept himself from chuckling.

"I would never hurt you," he said, "And when I saw how hurt you got from healing us…I hate seeing you in pain, Raven. It scares me. Because….erm. I care about you." Now he was nervous too.

"Well, obviously." Her voice was flat again, and he looked up, startled. "You have to care about us, we're your team. If we're out of commission, we can't protect Jump."

"Raven, that's not what I meant at all."

"It's okay," Raven said, "I get it."

"No, but I-,"

"And how's our little girl doing?" Cyborg boomed as he opened the door, Starfire and Beast Boy following behind him with even bigger grins.

"I'm fine," she answered softly. Cyborg's face fell; he had expected a more jubilant answer, even if it was from Raven, but he quickly resumed his cheeriness.

"So the scan shows that the corrective surgery shrunk your amygdalae eighty percent, all the way back to its normal size. Considering the lack of explosions, Rae, I figure you have all of your emotions sorted out and re-adjusted, right? Hey, is something wrong?" Cyborg asked.

"I told you, I'm fine." She glared at Robin and he shrank from her gaze, confused.

"Alright, if you say so." Cyborg shrugged.

"We are so glad that you are well," Starfire beamed.

"Yeah, dude, it's totally- well, I'm glad you're okay," Beast Boy said sheepishly. "We're all glad, y'know."

"Thanks Beast Boy," she said softly, "I appreciate it." Everyone seemed a bit surprised at this response.

"Hey guys, I know Raven just woke up, but would you mind leaving the two of us alone for a second? I need to talk to her. I'll bring you guys back after we're done." After a moment of hesitation, the three other titans left the room, and even Beast Boy could feel the tension that they were leaving behind.

"Raven. We need to talk."  
"There's no point in talking. I misunderstood you, and you want to correct that. It's fine. I understand that my assumption was incorrect. It's over."

"No, that's not it at all. You weren't incorrect."

She seemed shocked. "…What?"

"You're going to make me have to say this, aren't you?" He wanted to laugh at how afraid he was. He looked at her and took a deep breath. "Raven, I was afraid of hurting you the most. I didn't know if it was our bond, or our similarities, or our friendship, but now I do. It's all of those things, and," his voice got softer, "…and more."

"Really?"

He stood, and he moved so his face was right above hers. Her eyes were wide and startled, and she could feel his hot breath on her face; except, this time, she was not afraid. She was excited. "Really. I know I got this wrong the first two times, so will you please let me try again?" He watched her eyes carefully and must have seen the consent in them, because before she even answered, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. When he broke the kiss to see her reaction, he saw that she was smiling.

"So I'm that good, huh?"

She swatted him playfully. "You idiot." She couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

AN- Gah I'm sorry that my epilogues are always cheesy. So it's done, after all of the roadblocks and exams and all of I think both freshman and sophomore year. I already have ideas for new stories as soon as I wrap up the (3?) fics that are still in progress, so you'll be hearing from me again soon. Thanks for reading!


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